


The One That Matters the Most

by Orcinus234



Category: Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)
Genre: Jetstorm and Slipstream are scared, Loneliness, Russell is a smart kid, Sideswipe wants his buddy back, Steeljaw is a strange decepticon, Steeljaw is also smart, don't underestimate them, minor description of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-11-29 17:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11445984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orcinus234/pseuds/Orcinus234
Summary: Steeljaw has a new plan for how to deal with the autobots. It's a classic, give them the option to stop the decepticons and capture them (if they can) or they can save their precious team mascot... their little Russell. But of course, Steeljaw is Steeljaw, and he's not going to make either option easy. He has... plans... for the kid.





	1. Freezing

**Author's Note:**

> Russell is my favorite character, and I feel like he doesn't get enough screen time. I know that he acts like a common dare devil preteen sometimes, but the kid, as I believe Bumblebee has once said, would make a convincing decepticon because of his smarts and ability to sneak around and improvise on the spot, sometimes better than his dad, I dare say.

He's alone and it's dark and it’s cold in the cell. The  _cybertronian_  sized cell. They had turned off all the lights to make sure he couldn't find any ways to escape. They had also turned down the temperature and are continuing to turn down the temperature every thirty minutes to make sure he is too busy trying to keep himself warm to try and escape, even if he is blinded to his surroundings.

_“Stupid Steeljaw, why does he have to be so smart?”_

The cold wasn't just to keep him from trying to escape, it was the threat that the decepticons had made to the autobot team. They could either chase the decepticons who are going on a material run, or… they could go through all the traps that they had set up in order to rescue their “precious little team _mascot_ ” before he freezes to death.

_“Stupid Steeljaw.”_

It isn’t easy to make Russell feel afraid. He could get scared, but it has already been proven that Russell is almost impossible to scare. But he is scared now. It’s not the dark that scares him, it’s not because he’s alone, and it’s not because it’s cold. He’s afraid because this might be the end for him.

There is a strong chance that the team could get to him in time, they have great timing as they have shown in the past. Except for when the decepticons had snatched Russell after football practice that very afternoon. It was around noon when they had grabbed him. They had knocked him out after he had “put up an impressive fight” with their new eagle decepticon buddy – Russell wasn’t about to go quietly – who could disguise himself as a jet, as Steeljaw had put it with an annoying hint of amusement in his voice. Steeljaw had started the timer when Russell woke up a few hours later. What time it is now, Russell doesn’t know, it feels like it’s been days!

_“It’s freezing!”_

The other kids had called for an early end to practice because of an oncoming thunder storm. Russell was the last to leave – he was smart enough to grab a bigger coat and a beanie – and he called Bumblebee, because of his dad having to leave for a full week, which meant that one of the autobots had to go pick him up.

It was three of the autobots actually, who had driven over. Drift was sent and Jetstorm and Slipstream had tagged along. Drift hadn’t volunteered – Russell had figured from what he could hear in the background of the call – but that doesn’t mean he was entirely against it. The reason why it was Drift who was sent was because – as Bee had said it – Sideswipe would drive over the speed limit and would take _long_ detours after he had picked up Russell – Sideswipe had let out an offended “Hey!” in the background. Strongarm couldn’t do it because it would be concerning if anyone saw a police vehicle picking him up. Windblade… well… she’s not a car. Bee didn’t want to busy Optimus, plus he wasn’t exactly the right vehicle for the job – In the background, Optimus had defended that he would not mind driving Russell around, but had found reasoning with Bee’s statement about him not being the right vehicle. Grimlock couldn’t do it because of his lack of a vehicle mode, and that because it was already pretty cold out, he wanted a _car_ with _heating_ to pick him up. Russell had thrown in a comment about Bee sounding like Denny. Bee couldn’t because Fixit needed _him_ specifically for something, which left Drift and his minicon tagalongs, who had sounded very excited about the fact that they were finally going to be driving Russell for the first time since they came to Earth – the two minicons really admire the kid.

Russell had waited patiently for about 7 minutes when he heard the sound of a jet. At first he thought it was just passing over, but then he realized that it was getting louder. He had narrowly dodged the first attack when the Decepticon had transformed and extended his talons towards Russell. He was smart enough to try and call the team for help, but when he barrel rolled to avoid the decepticon a second time, he dropped his phone and the decepticon had smashed it when his talons hit the ground. Russell had continued to evade him and had taken off towards the forest where it would be harder for the Eagle decepticon to grab him, but the decepticon flew faster than Russell could run and had blocked his path. Russell had fallen on his butt from surprise of the decepticon landing in front of him and because of the ground shaking under the decepticon’s landing. It was at that time that Russell heard the tell-tale sound of Drift driving to the field. When Drift saw what was happening, he had put the peddle to the metal and rushed towards them, calling out Russell’s name. The decepticon looked up for second as Drift and the minicons transformed, but had turned back to Russell when he stood up and started to run towards his friends. Russell is fast, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid the decepticon when he jumped up and landed with Russell in his talons, slamming him to the ground hard enough to knock him out. Russell could vaguely recall the feeling of being lifted up, and the last thing he heard before the darkness swallowed him whole, was the sound of Jetstorm and Slipstream calling out to him in panic.

So here Russell sits, cold in a giant dark metal room, with a headache that is finally starting fade. He is curled up in one of the corners with his coat tugged snuggly around him and pulled down far enough so that he can sit on it – obviously, a cold room would have a cold floor, and his jeans aren’t the best protection. His joints are starting to cramp, but the most exercise that Russell can do is yoga, jumping jacks and push-ups; Russell is aware how smart Steeljaw is, so he decides that it’s best if he stays in the corner he woke up in rather than see – or feel rather – how big his cell is. Steeljaw is on the far opposite side of an idiot on the intelligence scale… _far_ opposite side. He knows that Russell is not to be underestimated in intelligence and skill. To put it simply, Bee isn’t the only one who thinks that Russell would make a convincing decepticon. Russell figures that in addition to the darkness and dropping temperature, Steeljaw probably placed some obstacles throughout the cell. He had sworn if Russell were to die, it would be from the cold, and as much as Russell didn’t trust the wolf, he believes Steeljaw’s words. If there are any obstacles in the room, they are there just to keep him put, not to kill him.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

That is the third time that Russell heard those beeps, and he had figured after the first time that it meant only one thing… another thirty minutes have passed and the temperature is dropping another _10 degrees F!_ Russell doesn’t know what the room temperature was before the timer was set, but he guesses it was maybe 60 degrees F which means that he is now sitting in a _30 degrees F_ room with a coat and a beanie meant for a “chilly winter night”. Russell had never been in weather colder than 40 degrees.

_“Stupid Steeljaw!”_

Cybertronians don’t do well in the cold just like humans, but they can last a lot longer than humans. In the artic, a person who – for some reason – is under dressed for the weather might only survive one minute where as a cybertronian might last as long as an hour or two. Steeljaw might not know this, and thinks that Russell will last longer, but given that this Steeljaw he’s talking about, he probably does know it. Steeljaw is strange to Russell in this way. Out of all the decepticons Russell has met, Steeljaw acts like the only one who is not that interested in killing him – even though Russell is on the verge of freezing to death and Steeljaw is the one who started the timer – and has even told other decepticons to stay away from him or to not kill him if they were holding him hostage – this isn’t the first time Russell has been captured by the decepticons. Steeljaw is unpredictable, and that makes him dangerous. Russell knows that he won’t last two hours, he might last one, but even with his coat he is still under dressed for the cold. Steeljaw is not giving the autobots a lot of time. Russell knows that Drift would have contacted the scrapyard immediately. He wouldn’t be surprised if Windblade had taken off after the decepticon – but seeing that Russell is not in the safety of the scrapyard, Windblade either couldn’t find them or was unsuccessful in rescuing him. Steeljaw had told Russell – through an intercom – what he had told the autobots. He had told them how often the temperature would drop and by how much it would drop, he had then told him that the team was very angry and that Sideswipe had even tried to attack him but had been held back.

_“So he told them in person. He had spoken over the intercom and had responded to my remarks, so he might have come here, where ever here is. If the team put a tracker on him they might be able to find me soon, they might already be here looking for me!”_

Suddenly, the temperature drop finally reached Russell, and an unpleasant chill runs up his spine.

_“I certainly hope they’re already here. I’m ready to go.”_

He had been badly shivering for a long time, but he is shivering a lot worse now – if that is even possible – and his legs are falling asleep. Russell himself is falling asleep and he doesn’t understand how he could ever want to sleep when he is on the verge of freezing to death.

_“Maybe sleeping gas, so that I will die in my sleep… no… Steeljaw isn’t nice enough to do that… right?”_

But Russell is only getting sleepier. He sniffles as snot threatens to ooze out of his nose, pulling his legs even closer to his chest.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

_“Has it already been another thirty minutes? It couldn’t have. Time only flies by when you’re having fun, and I am NOT. HAVING. FUN!”_

The sudden temperature drop is made obvious to Russell; his coat is now officially useless. A faint smell of… something reaches his stuffy nose, something he hasn’t smelled before. As he tries to identify it, taking more sniffs, his body starts to feel numb and his eye lids start to droop. He’s starting to fall asleep a lot faster.

_“It is sleeping gas! Why is Steelj…”_

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

_“What?”_

A few more seconds go by; the temperature drops again and the sleeping gas is really starting to get to him.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

_“He’s speeding up the… timer?... Wh…y?”_

Slowly, Russell lays down on the cold floor and he doesn’t realize it until he feels the cold metal on his scalp.

_“Why… would I… lay down?...That’s… just…”_

Thinking proves to be hard as his vision starts to fade. He can hear the muffled sound of the timer beeping two more times. He opens his mouth; his voice is rough and quiet.

“… No…”

Just before his vision turns completely black, he sees a blinding white light slide across his vision with a giant silhouette standing in the middle of it. As it slowly approaches Russel, he notices – even with his vision getting blurrier – that the silhouette has triangle ears and a tail. He knows who it is, blurry vision or not.

_“…Steeljaw…”_

His eyes close completely and he feels himself being picked up by warm metal. He passes out, accepting the warmth even it belongs to the least trust worthy decepticon Russell has ever met.


	2. Warm Discomfort

Warmth. That is what Russell feels. Warmth, but he is still shivering.

_“I must not have been out that long.”_

But warmth isn’t the only thing that Russell feels as he slowly comes out of unconsciousness. He is laying on his side on some sort of cushion. It’s not a bed, it’s some sort of chair that can recline. A strap of some kind is situated on top of his hip, the one that is not on the cushion. This chair is also vibrating; the _whole room_ feels like it’s vibrating.

_VROOOOM_

_“That was a car driving by… Sideswipe?”_

“Rise and shine!” a male voice says from… all around him?

_“I know that voice… where do I know that voice from?”_

The “room” bounces and rumbles, Russell’s whole body lifts off the chair slightly with it, as if the “room” went over a bump.

_“I’m in a car.”_

Russell shifts a little, wrapping his usual blue jacket around him more. He realizes that he is no longer wearing the coat, and it would appear that his beanie is gone as well. They must have been removed, because he doesn’t remember taking them off – that would just be stupid. He’s in the passenger seat of a car. The heat is turned up, to the point where it would normally be too hot for anybody driving a car in the middle of July… anybody who hadn’t been locked in a giant dark and cold metal room where the temperature was continuously dropping every thirty minutes. Remembering where he was before being in this car, Russell pulls his jacket around him more.

“You’re still cold, _seriously_? I have the heat turned up to 80 degrees!”

Russell’s eyes are still closed, he’s too comfortable and he feels like he might go back to sleep any second. But there is still one problem:

_“I know that voice!”_

A deep chuckle sounds around him. Russell doesn’t see what’s so funny.

“Well I guess I can’t blame you really, after all, you were in a – 5-degree room there for a second, seven hours ago.”

Another deep and _familiar_ chuckle.

“ _You humans_ are so sensitive to your own climate, how have you survived for _so long_? I mean… I know how you can small fry, you are difficult handle even for the autobots it looks like.”

There is obvious sarcasm in this voice. This voice that belongs to a decepticon that _breaths_ sarcasm and lies. The least trust worthy being in the entire universe that Russell has ever met.

“…Steeljaw?”

Russell’s voice is dry and the decepticon’s name comes out as two croaked syllables. Steeljaw lets out a sarcastic gasp.

“Awww, you remember my name! How sweet… tell me small fry, does this make us _friends_ , now that I saved you from freezing to death?”

 _“You were the one who tried to kill me!”_ Russell wants to say, but he’s still too tired, too numb. The sleeping gas probably hasn’t completely worn off yet. Plus, his throat is dry, and he found that saying the decepticon’s name wasn’t the best idea after almost freezing to death and not drinking water in who knows how long.

“You need water, don’t you? I did some research a while back, ‘How to take care of a child’. You human children sure have a lot of needs and it’s _so easy_ for you to get sick! Your poor… uh… parents, right? Yeah.”

Russell has a lot he wants to say to Steeljaw right now, but he also has a lot of questions. Questions like: why _did_ you save me? Where are we going? What do plan to do… or not do to me now? But there is one question that is bothering him the most, and he doesn’t know why.

_“Why Steeljaw? Why is he the one to take me out of the cell and warm me up? He was the one who threatened to freeze me to death.”_

“I know you’re still awake, small fry.”

Russell shifts again, releasing his jacket from his grip slightly as he tries to open his eyes. Everything is so blurry, and the addition of movement on the other side of the tinted windows isn’t doing anything to help with his massive headache. Everything hurts too much so he decides to close his eyes again and try to get more rest, he’ll need it for whatever it is that Steeljaw has planned for him… unfortunately, Steeljaw is in a talkative mood.

“Hey! Speaking of parents, I know that the taller human from your base is your father, I believe that’s the word. Now, during my research, I found that it… well… ‘takes two to tango’. So… where is your parent that is called the… ‘mother’? What’s she like?”

_“wouldn’t a mean decepticon like you like to know? As if I would tell you, besides, my throat is still dry.”_

“Oh right, _water_. Well, you can always tell me on our next get together. Actually… I just remembered.”

He seriously hopes Steeljaw isn’t reading his mind.

Something moves in front of Russell’s face, despite his blurry vision and killer headache, he opens his eyes. Something small and clear is in front of him, but he knows what it is.

_“Water…”_

Steeljaw can’t be trusted, but Russell still reaches out with a shaky and numb arm – not super numb thankfully – and grabs the bottle. Rolling onto his back, he tries to sit up but finds it difficult. Steeljaw is being far too friendly, Russell realizes as Steeljaw slowly raises the seat for him, putting him in an upright position. He struggles for a bit with the cap, but manages and feels little shame when he gulps down the cool liquid – despite it being 70 degrees in the car… Steeljaw… or whatever – relieving his burning throat. Steeljaw whistles.

“Greedy now are we?”

The amusement in his voice is really annoying. Russell would love to tell him that, but it would mean that Steeljaw has gotten into his head and Russell doesn’t want to let him feel like he’s won. It’s probably best to not immediately try out his newly hydrated throat, but Steeljaw is pretty impatient for a decepticon who has the most patience Russell has ever seen. Smart, Sarcastic, a (good) liar _and_ patient; Steeljaw cannot be trusted.

“So you ready to talk about your mother? I really am curious.”

“Why am I here, Steeljaw?”

His voice is still a little rough, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. Russell can’t help but inwardly scowl at himself because of his tone sounding annoyed. Steeljaw may not mention it, but he most likely noticed it. He’s Steeljaw.

“He speaks! Looks like water really does help. Who would’ve thought?” the sarcasm is starting to hurt Russell’s brain, but he can’t let Steeljaw get to him.

He doesn’t respond to Steeljaw. His vision isn’t as blurry anymore, but it’s still fuzzy around the edges. The thing about riding in a transformer’s vehicle form, is that if you are upset with or get into an argument with them, the only place you can really look is out the window; and due to his blurry vision, that is unfortunately not an option. Instead, he decides to watch as he turns the empty bottle in his hands. He needs to try and fix his eye sight, so it’s probably for the best that he’s sitting up and awake. Barely awake actually. Russell figures that he was given way too much sleeping gas. It is silent in the car for a minute or so, but Steeljaw isn’t about to let the drive get _boring_.

“You know small fry, while I was waiting for Razorwind to bring you to your cell yesterday, I was thinking...”

_“You’re always thinking. Wait… yesterday?”_

Russell glances at the time on the dashboard. 2:07, and the sun is out on the other side of the tinted windows which means that it’s the afternoon.

_“I’ve been in captivity for 26 hours?!”_

Russell kept his surprise inward. If Steeljaw sees him react he’ll know he’s gotten into his head and therefore, hold control over the conversation and Russell can’t let him win.

“I was thinking how this whole plan works out, making sure there are no flaws. I was thinking of how I can make sure my decepticon brethren don’t get caught by the autobots and I realized something… _y_ _ou’re_ the reason why quite a few of my fellow decepticons got caught. I know because a… ‘little bird told me’… I believe that’s the saying, about a few of those captures. I dare say, you _just might be_ better at catching decepticons than your autobot buddies.”

“They caught most of them; I just offer a little advice now and then.”

It’s not a lie and it doesn’t give away anything. If Steeljaw has a “little bird” then he already knows that. It’s highly doubtful that Russell can get Steeljaw to give up the “little bird” and if he does give up a name, it’s most likely a lie.

“Awww, now you have to admit small fry, if you didn’t give them your little advice, they wouldn’t have been able to catch those decepticons. My little bird also told me that you challenged Drift and didn’t get cut down. They also told me that Drift listened to you and that one of his minicons asked you to be their master. Is that right… _Commander Russell?”_

_“I need to find that bird.”_

Steeljaw turns into the forest when no one is around, and Russell grabs onto the edge of the seat and the door with both hands, empty bottle abandoned in his lap. It would show more resistance to being a hostage if he didn’t hold on, but this new path – that isn’t actually a path – is unsteady terrain that is not meant to be driven on, and Russell still has a serious headache. His vision is still a bit fuzzy, and despite the fact that Steeljaw said that he turned up the heat – which, now that Russell can see the dash board, is being turned down – he is still shivering. Thankfully, it’s not as bad as when he was in the cell, but he still feels like needs some more time in the heat. But Russell can’t ask for that, no matter how much he needs it, because that would be _asking_ for Steeljaw to take control of the conversation.

“Where are we going?”

“Into the forest, where does it look like?... Oh, let me guess, your vision is still gone. _Sorry_ about that.”

Russell thinks he heard a hint of sincerity, but he blames his headache.

“You gave me too much sleeping gas; you should have lowered the dosage if you’re _actually_ sorry.”

“… I thought I used the right amount, huh?”

“You probably used the amount meant for an adult male. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still a kid, so a dosage for an adult is too much. I thought you were smart, you should have known that.”

Russell, is going to have to practice his poker face and poker _voice_ … if that’s a thing. He knows that he sounded really annoyed when he had said that, but Steeljaw seems distracted by something else he says. Russell is going to need a lot more practice.

“You think I’m smart? Awww, I’m flattered, I truly am.”

So annoying.

“I said _thought_ , not _think_.”

“Which means that there was still a point in time where you _thought_ I was smart.”

So, _so_ annoying.

“Anyway, I just thought that we could take a hike through the forest. You know, get some fresh air and some exercise. I think that _you_ especially need it after staying in your cell for so long.”

_“It was your fault!”_

“Besides, our friends from the scrapyard put a tracker on me. ‘My little bird’ turned it off for me when our friends showed up at the ship where your cell was, but ‘my little bird’ turned it back on a while ago. Thought I’d invite them to join us on our little hike.”

Russell is leaning back into the seat, neither he or Steeljaw are going to lower it again, but he is still tired and after trying to look out the window because of the whole “if you’re upset with or get into an argument with a transformer, look out the window logic”, his head is starting to hurt again and his eyesight is also reverting back to being pretty blurry. His eyes are half lidded, but he’s not sure if he wants to fall asleep or stay awake. Both options have their consequences.

_“So I was right about a tracker, too bad Steeljaw noticed it. The team must have gotten there just before I was gassed. If they had split up to go after the decepticons and to be able to rescue me, which would have been the better plan, then the team that went after the decepticons on the material run may have already wrapped up their end, which means that the whole team can come after us. Why would Steeljaw want that, I mean, he’s…”_

Russell turns in his seat a little and looks out the back window. No one is following them.

_“He’s alone. It’ll be him versus the whole team. Why would he want that? Sure, he’ll have some advantage with me as a hostage, but the team can improvise and find a way to rescue me. But, he also mentioned that his ‘little bird’ messed with the tracker, and if they turned it back on a while ago, which had to be when he was a good distance away from the ship, then that means that the ‘little bird’ is here, right now with us! What on Earth is Steeljaw planning?!”_

“Here we are!” Steeljaw announces in a cheery voice.

Looking out the wind shield – which was a really bad idea with a headache and blurry vision – Russell sees that they are entering a small clearing. He knows what Steeljaw is about to do, so he tucks his chin in, closes his eyes and let’s go of the door and the seat. In the next moment, Steeljaw transforms back into his bot form, and Russell is flung forward. He expects Steeljaw to let him hit the ground… he does, but he finds that his fall is cushioned by a lot of grass… sort of, but it doesn’t hurt that much. Looking up with blurry eyes at Steeljaw, he sees that the decepticon is looking at some sort of scanner, probably checking for signs of autobots. Russell moves his numb hands to the ground near his stomach to push himself up, and when he does, he feels some sort of flat rectangular object in his right pocket, but he ignores it, more focused on trying to stand up. He only gets as far as a kneeling position, because he realizes that his legs are a lot more numb than his arms and that he can’t move them at all. He looks back – vision still blurry – at Steeljaw to see him still looking at the scanner.

_“He knows my legs can’t work. Stupid Steeljaw.”_

Putting the scanner away, Steeljaw turns back to Russell, a stupid, evil and annoying smirk on his face. He takes a few steps towards Russell and wraps one hand… paw… or whatever around his middle body – Russell is able to lift his arms up before he does – and picks him up off the ground. Russell’s legs dangle and his arms rest on top of Steeljaw’s hand because he is too tired hold them up for very long.

“Our autobot friends will be here shortly. I say we start our walk now and let them catch up. Seeing that your legs aren’t working properly, I’ll carry you. Sound like a plan?”

Russell doesn’t answer. With what little strength he has in his arms, he reaches back and pulls the hood of his jacket over his head. No matter what he says, Steeljaw will keep walking, besides, his vision and headache are killing him – not literally – and he is still shivering, still slightly cold, and he is tired because the sleeping gas hasn’t completely worn off yet. Steeljaw’s hand is warm and although he’ll never admit it, Russell finds it comfortable and because of that, he rests his head on his arms and closes his eyes, the numbness taking back total control.

“Falling asleep already? We’ve only just begun our walk and our friends will be here soon, you can’t fall asleep just yet.”

Russell ignores him, keeping his eyes closed as he falls into a shallow sleep. He knows that when the team gets here, Steeljaw is going to do “some” talking, most likely about how they failed to be there in time or maybe he’ll say, with a sarcastic tone, how surprised he is that they all came to rescue Russell, maybe both. Steeljaw won’t give away his plan, because he’s Steeljaw, but he is most definitely going to taunt them, because he’s Steeljaw. Russell would rather be asleep for that because it would only make him feel embarrassed to just sit there as a hostage while being taunted by Steeljaw for however long he plans to talk. It’s one thing to be held hostage by any other decepticon, but it’s another to be held hostage by Steeljaw. Steeljaw cannot be trusted. Russell thinks this as the world fades away, and the shallow slumber takes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is where all the action happens, and where I'll tag all the autobots.


	3. Bone Crushing Greetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you have already figured it out, but italic quotes are Russell's thoughts.

The sound of birds chirping quickly becomes distant as they fly away. The thumping of Steeljaw’s feet is loud yet quiet. It’s an odd thing to Russel, how transformers can sneak up on each other and their “target” doesn’t hear the thumping of their metallic feet. Of course, it is always amusing to see one of the bots jump when another jumps out from behind them. Russell always sees it coming, which helps with him not getting scared when Sideswipe, Strongarm and Grimlock try to spook him – they haven’t given up and are only more motivated after Drift made a comment about how decepticons won’t fear them on the battlefield because they are not terrifying enough to scare a human _child_ , even though, as Sideswipe points out every now and then, Drift himself let Russell tell him what to do. Just like the autobots, Steeljaw is loud (to Russell) when he walks, but it may be because he’s spent so much time with the autobots that he can easily tune it out as he shallowly sleeps. Every now and then, Steeljaw steps on a twig or through a bush, yet Russell isn’t bothered in the slightest. The sleeping gas is still present, but not as bad as before – much to Russell’s joy – but because he is still slightly shivering, Russell isn’t able to fall into a deep sleep. It might also be because he is anticipating the autobots’ arrival. Sideswipe might jump out from behind, Optimus might make himself obvious in one direction, making Steeljaw face him while the others get into different positions all around, or maybe Slipstream and Jetstorm will jump in front and distract Steeljaw. Russell has come up with a lot of different plans to help tire out his brain in order to make him fall into a deep sleep, also hoping that maybe he might get an idea of what the autobots will do so that he can prepare himself, but there is still one problem… Steeljaw. The decepticon is smart, he, without a doubt, has already thought of all of the possible ambushes that the team might try, he might even be thinking, as well as listening for ambushes at this very moment. Russell isn’t calling it giving up, but he is just going to accept that everything will be improvised and that he won’t be able to prepare himself for any of the directions that he might be thrown in – literally.

Of course, Russell isn’t really thinking any more. Rather than putting him to sleep, the planning just increased his headache… which, actually, helped him rest a bit better. Now, He has his head resting on one arm, both of which have shifted a while ago to where both hands have a light grip on Steeljaw’s index finger… or claw? His legs still dangle, and whether they’re still numb or not, he doesn’t know, he’s too tired to test to see if they work yet. More than tired actually, he’s currently in a shallow slumber, he just notices things because he’s not completely tuned out to his surroundings.

They both know that the autobots will make themselves known soon – Russell assumes that Steeljaw already hears them, if the slight squeeze of the hand holding Russell and his low chuckle a minute ago were anything to go by – but Russell can’t bring himself to care. The beginning of the fight, which Russell has dubbed as “aggressive negotiations”, is the only part where he thinks that he’ll be able to stay in his shallow sleep. The action will come a minute or so later and he won’t be able to sleep at all then, but he’ll probably try to keep his eyes closed, because of his headache and eyesight that he knows is still blurry. He thinks that the first autobot that grabs him will immediately turn and get him as far away from the fight as possible – at least that’s the hope.

Russell is finally able to start to really dose off when he hears it, a twig snapping under someone, and it’s not close enough to be Steeljaw. He keeps his eyes closed and manages to keep himself from tensing in anticipation from what he _knows_ is about to happen. Steeljaw on the other hand, thinks this is the perfect time to stop in his tracks and announce that he is aware of the autobots presence.

“I highly doubt that you’ll be able to rescue small fry if you all just continue to follow me around. Honestly, _Commander Russell_ here could come up with an incredible ambush plan in a fraction of the time, ain’t that right, _C_ _ommander_?”

_“Curse that ‘little bird’!”_

Steeljaw lightly shakes him from side to side when he calls him “commander” the first time. He quietly groans in protest and his grip on the claw tightens a little. Russell is awake, but is keeping his eyes closed and is staying still – as much as he can when his legs dangle – because he is still not ready to make eye contact with any of the bots. He doesn’t want to see their concern for him, the anger, or any other unpleasant emotion in the autobots’ optics. It makes sense to him, if he just keeps his eyes closed, it’ll make the bots worry more because he won’t be very responsive, but it’s better for him, his head is banging – worse after Steeljaw shook him – and his eyesight is fuzzy.

Steeljaw chuckles and Russell hears them, all the footsteps. They are still cautious – he can tell from how “quiet” their steps are – and they are all around the two of them. It’s a strange thought to have, but Russell can’t help but think that this is what a chew toy must feel like when people try to take it away from a playful dog. There are four sets of footsteps in front of them, two of which, are quieter than the others. _Jetstorm_ and _Slipstream_. Which means that one of the louder sets is Drift. There is one set of heavy footsteps who belongs to a bot who is growling to the right. _Grimlock_. Another two sets behind them, one is heavy. _Optimus_. The last two sets are to the left.

_“Fixit isn’t here.”_

Bumblebee is the other set of footsteps in front of them, Windblade is with Optimus, and Sideswipe and Strongarm are to the left. If Sideswipe already tried to attack Steeljaw before, then he will most likely try again once the decepticon says something specifically infuriating – only Steeljaw will ever know what it is – and someone will need to stop him. Because Bee will most likely be doing most of the talking for the autobots, someone else who is level headed – kind of – who knows how to deal with an upset Sideswipe will have to be by his side, which means it has to be Strongarm – or maybe just because the two know how to work together now. That leaves Windblade with Optimus. Russell is a little concerned how knows all this, but it will be proven when they start “negotiating” … and “negotiating” they begin.

“Steeljaw,” Bumblebee’s voice sounds from the front. _One_. “Russell is not a threat to you, let him go.”

“Oh really?”

_“Sarcasm.”_

“But I found that he holds the honor of taking down _quite a few_ decepticons for you. Sounds like a greater threat than any of you,” Steeljaw chuckles.

Russell doesn’t need to open his eyes to know that Steeljaw is using his free hand to gesture to everyone.

“Although, I must confess, I think he’d make a better decepticon than autobot. While I was originally hoping to trade him for some of my other decepticon brethren, the idea of keeping him around to help me, sounds almost irresistible.”

Russell can practically hear his evil grin.

“That’s not happening Steeljaw!” says Sideswipe from the left. _Two_.

He hears the sound of a blade being unsheathed and three steps from the left. Another step from the other bot on the left.

“Ah, ah ahh. I’d stay put if I were you.”

Russell feels it, through the numbness and shivering. Steeljaw is squeezing him. At first it isn’t that much and is bearable, but then Steeljaw really starts to squeeze, _hard_ , and it hurts. He grimaces, tightening his grip on Steeljaw’s claw, he inwardly scowls at himself when he hears a pathetic whimper escape him. The footsteps stop, after he hears a metallic hand gently land on Sideswipes shoulder and hears Strongarm – from the left. _Three_ – say Sideswipe’s name in a quiet warning. Steeljaw lets out a small, deep and _evil_ laugh, loosening the pressure. Russell takes in quick breathes, keeping his eyes closed and his head on his arm. He hears Grimlock growl, but based on the lack of heavy footsteps, he doesn’t move.

“At first I thought you guys kept him and the older human around as a part of your disguise, and small fry here as a _mascot_ , but after having a little chat with him, I can see the appeal to keeping him as company.”

Now that Steeljaw mentioned his father, Russell realizes that his dad isn’t here. If he was, he would have thrown a silent ambush out the window and ran in, calling Russell’s name. It’s a good thing that he’s not here though, even if he wants to hug his dad right now, because things are about to get crazy.

“So, _Bumblebee_ , I’ve already stated my proposal… will you accept?”

Steeljaw and Russell both know the answer. If Bee says deal – in different and grumpy words – then it is a lie. The team values Russell, he’s much more to them than just company, he’s a friend – Drift will never admit it, but he might say something along the lines of “I sometimes find your presence pleasant” – and they want to save him because they care about _him_ , it’s not an obligation because they have to protect humans, they want him around, each for their own reason. Sideswipe would absolutely love to prove that to Steeljaw right now, but as long as Russell is still (literally) in the wolf’s clutches, he can’t do anything. At the same time though, they can’t release any of the decepticons they’ve captured.

“Of course, you’re always welcome to keep the prisoners you’ve caught, I’ll just have to figure out the best way to introduce the newest member of the team to the others.”

Russell knows, that Steeljaw knows that Russell won’t just accept being one with the decepticons, it’s just to make the autobots furious. It does work, and Steeljaw hasn’t even said a whole lot.

Russell hears Grimlock snarl immeidiately after Steeljaw’s comment. Steeljaw squeezes him again and Russell can’t help but grimace and let out a pained whimper, because that one was **_a lot_** stronger than the last one. Grimlock stops snarling. He hears heavy footsteps from the right and assumes that the dinobot stepped back because Steeljaw loosens his grip. He is not ready to open his eyes yet, but he can still somehow see that stupid smirk on Steeljaw’s stupid face. It seems like it’s quiet for a few minutes, but Russell knows that it’s only been a few seconds, because the only way Sideswipe and Grimlock would be quiet for a few minutes, would be if they were asleep, and Russell highly doubts that they are asleep in a situation like this – Russell is the only one who can be asleep right now.

“Listen Steeljaw,” Windblade says from behind. _Four_ , Russell was right, he’ll have to talk to Fixit about this, or maybe Optimus. “We’re not going to release any decepticons, but we are not leaving without Russell.”

“Alive,” Optimus adds in a slow, angry tone.

“Hmm, then it sounds like we have a problem… I wonder, if small fry here was able to get two minicons to call him _Commander_ , and one of those minicons to ask him to be their master, I wonder what he could get my fellow decepticons to do?...”

Steeljaw is most likely smirking at Slipstream and Jetstorm, probably directly at Jetstorm.

“…But it isn’t just you two now is it? He probably has a way to get _all_ of you to do what he says, even you _Optimus Prime_ …” Russell feels Steeljaw turn a little, to look at Optimus. Russell feels sick to his stomach, he wants to tell them that he’s okay – kind of – and that they can’t let Steeljaw get into their heads, but he needs to stay quiet, because if he shows that he’s wide awake and starts to struggle, then Steeljaw has a whole new arsenal of taunting lines that he can use.

“… and if _Commander_ Russell can tell a Prime what to do, oh, just imagine how fast he can make all of the decepticons loyal to me.”

“Last chance Steeljaw!” Bee spits.

Grimlock takes a big step, Russell can tell because the ground shakes, which he feels through Steeljaw. The decepticon squeezes him, but it is not as strong as before, so Russell neither grimaces nor whimpers.

“Give us back Russell!” Grimlock growls.

“Well then, you’ll have to come get him.”

Steeljaw squeezes him particularly hard this time around, so in addition to a grimace and a pathetic whimper, Russell grips the con’s claw hard and turns his head. He refuses to lift his head, to open his eyes, even when Steeljaw continues to squeeze him for more than a few seconds. He groans, it’s getting hard to breath and it feels like his body is being molded into a thin vase – because he is – but he has to keep his eyes closed. Steeljaw laughs.

_“Stupid Steeljaw!”_

“Let him go. Now!” yells Sideswipe.

Russell hears fast footsteps, but he is a little distracted by being squeezed and not being able to breath. He can’t tell if they are heavy or light, if it’s multiple or one, but either way they need to stop, because Steeljaw is squeezing him **_even harder_** , he increases his strength every millisecond it seems, but Russell is already low on air.

“Commander Russell!” Slipstream and Jetstorm yell in union.

It’s someone from behind who is running up to them. Steeljaw squeezes harder.

_“Stop. Please stop… Just…”_

“S-stop,” Russell chokes out.

His voice is a little dry. To his own ears, it sounds just above a whisper, but the bot that was running up from behind stops dead in their tracks. Steeljaw releases his grip slightly. Even though he is still being squeezed _hard_ , he is able to get a few shaky breathes back into his lungs and coughs them back out. He has an iron grip on Steeljaw’s claw, his head is lifted off his arms a few inches and he’s looking down. He’s _looking_ down. His vision is blurrier than before – and his hair is being pushed down into face by his hood – which he links to Steeljaw suffocating him for a while. Even though he knows it is a bad idea to look up, he does, but he only looks at Bee’s and Drift’s feet – what he can make out of them any way with hair in his eyes and blurry vision - … and at Slipstream and Jetstorm’s terrified expressions. He can’t see them very clearly but he thinks he accidently makes eye contact with them because they flinch and call out his name quietly. More than one bot growls. Russell wants to tell the minicons he’s alright, even if he’s not because the expressions that he knows they’re making – even if he can barely see them – makes his stomach drop.

_“They’re scared… and it’s because of me. I don’t want them to be scared.”_

Russell looks back down slowly, finally being able to take in the proper amount of air needed when Steeljaw finally slackens his grip to a none crushing point.

“Steeljaw,” Drift warns. “You are not fighting with honor when you hold a hostage on the battlefield.”

“Oh, I didn’t say anything about fighting. If I wanted a good fight, I would wait until small fry is all healed up. His intelligence and ‘deceptive skills’ make him _almost_ impossible to catch… _almost_ , but he is still a greater challenge than any of you.”

Russell is done with all of this. He wants to leave, or maybe just go to sleep and see where he is when he wakes up – hopefully in the scrapyard – but both options are impossible, and now that he struggled for a bit, he now knows the answer to one of his questions from a while ago. His legs still don’t work. He can feel them, but he can’t get them to move. If they had been broken or sprained badly before, the shock would have worn off by now, but he doesn’t feel any pain. Russell figures that it has something to do with the sleeping gas, but thinking isn’t going well right now, so he isn’t debating the cause. Given that it has only been a few seconds since Steeljaw loosened his grip, he’s still breathing heavily, and the lack of oxygen to his brain along with the sudden return of oxygen has intensified his headache. He can’t tell if his eyes are open or not.

Steeljaw suddenly squeezes him again. Russell is surprised by this and doesn’t have time to react properly and whimpers particularly loud. He didn’t hear any bot move, much less speak so he doesn’t know why Steeljaw is squeezing him again. Of course, Russell is a little out of it from when the con was suffocating him before, so the lack of oxygen intake is probably messing with his senses. He knows it did because Steeljaw’s words sound distant and muffled. He tries pushing the top claw away from him. He knows it won’t work because one: because he’s weak against a transformer on any other given day – except maybe Fixit sometimes, and two: because of the combination of his current shivering, from being in a _– 5-degree_ room, dehydration – it was only partially solved -, hunger, sleeping gas, and because of the numbness the gas has created in his arms and legs. Normally – if this was a normal situation, which Russell hopes this doesn’t become – Russell wouldn’t bother struggling because it’s useless, but instinct has taken over because Russell is out of it. He can’t think straight anymore. He’s so out of it, that he barely processes Steeljaw moving and letting go of him quickly. He only realizes it when he feels his whole body take a deep breath and he starts coughing like a mad man. A second later, his body lands on something solid that _definitely_ isn’t the forest floor, and slowly and gently cups him. He’s on his back, but because his instinct is still in control he lashes out, throwing a punch – a really pathetic one though – and hits air. His senses are coming back, not his eye sight but his hearing is coming back. He hears a voice. A male voice that isn’t Steeljaw, but definitely male. The voice is muffled, but it sounds like it’s saying calm things. Whoever it is, they’re panicked and they’re running, and running fast. Despite himself, Russell opens his eyes for only a second, and he sees red. He should probably freak out, but he also sees two bright blue optics, wide in fear.

_“…Sideswipe.”_

He soon realizes that he says that out loud, because Sideswipe, who he can hear a lot clearer now, is confirming it.

“That’s right, it’s me. Don’t worry, I got you…”

_“You sound like you’re more worried than me.”_

Russell relaxes, accepting it when Sideswipe _**lightly**_ squeezes him so that he doesn’t go flying when – Russell assumes – Sideswipe jumps down a long distance. He can only hear the wind and Sideswipe’s mumbling, he doesn’t hear any other voices or metal clashing with metal – he strains to listen, which ends up not being a good idea with a headache – so Russell figures that Sideswipe is running away from the fight.

_“Good.”_

It is a bit weird though, that Sideswipe, of all bots, is running away from a battle rather than charging in, of course given the situation, Sideswipe is probably (most definitely) more concerned with Russell’s wellbeing than what cool move he could use to take down Steeljaw. Putting aside the discussion of how odd it is that Sideswipe is fleeing the fight, Russell is grateful that he is, because Steeljaw can’t get him back and the team doesn’t have to hold back. Maybe the autobots will bring him back and put him in a stasis pod… but Russell gets the sick feeling that that isn’t going to be how it ends, something is going to go wrong. That thought only brings Russell back to a question that he asked himself before.

_“What was Steeljaw’s plan? He had to know that using me as bait would back fire somehow.”_

Russell shifts onto his side in Sideswipes hands. His eyes are closed and he wants to pull up his knees but he can’t because his legs still don’t work. He hasn’t really been paying attention, but Sideswipe is still mumbling calming things. At this point, Russell thinks the calming words are more for Sideswipe rather than him, whatever the case, Russell isn’t going to tell him to stop talking. He is actually relaxing from Sideswipes words, but Russell thinks it has more to do with it being _Sideswipe_ whose talking, rather than Steeljaw. Sideswipe could go faster if he were a car, but because Russell can’t move his legs – which Steeljaw may have mentioned, probably making… someone take action – Sideswipe can’t transform and have Russell get in after his transformation. Russell paid no mind to his surroundings as Sideswipe ran, he didn’t know where they started, but a few minutes later, he hears Fixit’s panicked voice as Sideswipe slows down and slowly lowers Russell, but doesn’t let go – Russell doesn’t mind to be honest. He’s falling asleep again, he can tell because Fixit and Sideswipe’s close up voices sound muffled. The numbness in his legs is _finally_ going away, which he finds odd but is grateful for.

He’s drifting off when he suddenly feels his phone buzz in his pocket. Someone texted him, but he’s too far gone to care. Except, it feels wrong to ignore it, but not because he’s ignoring the person who is texting him, it’s because… he doesn’t actually know. It just feels wrong to have his phone in his pocket.

He finally falls asleep, but not before feeling his phone shift in his pocket, on it’s own.

_“I’ll check it later.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da! I might write a sequel to this story, might not. Either way i'm done here. Thanks for reading.


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